Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes has described rumours linking him with Barcelona as disrespectful and insisted: "The focus is on the next game."

Heynckes, whose team ran away with the Bundesliga title and beat Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, has been linked with Tito Vilanova's job if the Barca boss is forced to quit for health reasons.

"During the first six months of this season, my colleague has laid the foundation for winning La Liga with his world-class team," Heynckes said. "Dignity and respect forbid all speculation about his job."

The 67-year old also refused to comment on rumours linking him with a return to one of his former La Liga clubs, Real Madrid or Athletic Bilbao. "Right now, all I am interested in is my team and our next game," he added.

Bayern take on Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the second leg on Wednesday, and Heynckes warned his team that they still faced a tough task, adding: "Their pride has been wounded."

He praised Lionel Messi's performance in Barca's 2-2 draw at Bilbao, saying: "That was a different Messi. He scored a fantastic goal. That was the old Messi."

Elsewhere, the row between Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer and other Bundesliga clubs is rumbling on.

On Thursday, Mainz general manager Christian Heidel said the way Bayern had handled recent transfers was "unworthy" of the German champions.

But Sammer responded by saying: "How could he form an opinion about that? He will most probably never win the league."

Heidel responded sarcastically, saying: "I have to leave it at that if Sammer believes I cannot have opinion since I have never been a German champion and never will be. I think he is right there."